Page |5 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. It was drafted on the pillars of best interests of the child, non-discrimination, right to life survival and development and child participation. This is a comprehensive legal instrument on children’s issues in Lesotho for the enhancement of safety and well-being of children. The CPW ACT covers: the care and protection of children in need; alternative forms of care such as residential care facilities, fostering and adoption; the administration of children’s inherited property; trafficking and abduction of children; children in contact and conflict with the law and restorative justice measures; legal representation and sentencing; trafficking of children; establishment of children’s courts; police powers and duties in relation to children; parentage, custody & maintenance; and the employment of children. The content and effect of the CPW ACT Act are discussed at length in this report. The Education Act (1995) was repealed by the Education Act (2010) & its Amendment Act of the same year. This made primary education free and compulsory for children ages 6 -13 years. The Sexual Offences Act (2003) articulates the offence of sexual abuse of children and imposes severe penalties for perpetrators. The Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act 2006 prevents forced marriage of minors and states the age at which a child has the capacity to consent to marriage. The Drugs of Abuse Act (2008) criminalises the growth, production and sale of drugs for adults and children. 2.2 Measures taken to integrate the rights and welfare of the child into the legislation or other conventions The following international instruments were ratified: INSTRUMENT The Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoptions 1993 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 Optional Protocol on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict Optional Protocol on Sale, Trafficking and Child Pornography Protocol to African Charter on Human & People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa 2003 Committee Against Torture (CAT) ILO Convention 138 on Minimum Age of Employment, 1973 ILO Convention 182 on Worst forms of Child Labour 1999 UN Declaration on Social and Legal Principles Relating to the Protection of Children Subscriber to Millennium Development Goals RATIFIED 2012 2008 2003 2003 2004 2001 2001 2001 1986